Nile cruise boats.

This is the little white Egret.
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not the usual sparkling white bird we all see near wherever there is water.
this is one of a few that has found a place where food floats on the Nile  it is perched on one of the many balcony rails that the cruise boats provide for them to clean up the Nile after they throw the garbage overboard,
 not only do they provide feed for  them but give the feathers a  nice gray oily look by letting diesel and sump oil flow in the Nile waters.
Now if this bird was seen on British or any other European soil or coastline a full scale inquiry would be under way looking for the vessel that caused the once white feathers to turn the colours they have.  and would call it an oil spillage and a crisis.   not here in Egypt,    even though thousands of people  have to take thousands of tablets to get rid of the tummy upsets they get from coming into contact with the Nile waters,   ah! I hear you say,    but  they do not feed or swim in the Nile waters.     No need too!   the boats kindly offer free water for bathing  washing your bums after going to the toilet  or in the showers. even water to clean the teeth with. and wash your hands after using the bum cleaning facilities.  not only that but they make sure all the food in the kitchen is washed to make sure none of the dust from the farms and streets of Luxor can be seen on arrival at the well laid out food bar,   be it Breakfast lunch or dinner.  must not get a piece of grit in ones teeth must we, that will cause a complaint and the chef who prepared the food will get instant dismissal for not washing the food with the contaminated water that the ship provides for free.
But you see the birds cannot complain  not even when their beaks turn a  nice colour purple or when the yellow feet that nature has given them turn black. and the feathers go a funny gray colour. or why its mate was floating lifeless down the Nile.  and even those of us who do take the time and effort to speak for the wildlife
 no one listens or do they give a damn,   as long as it does not harm the purse of Egypt's economy  where they can build a twenty million dollar cultural centre and knock it down 3 years later because its built on the avenue of the sphinx that is getting re vamped  ensuring another 50 million dollars revenue from the tourists each year.  was the avenue not there three years ago when The presidents wife   decided that was a good location for the multy million dollar project.  the new one  is twice the size and no one can say how much that is going to cost??   how about spending  A bit on cleaning the Nile  before more harm is done.  every living  thing near the Nile depends on it  for water, only 3% of Egypt is fertile and most of that is near the fast flowing Nile.


This is the White egret in its natural state.  the place where this photo was taken  on the reed beds Near Banana island is no longer there. filled in with contaminated waste from the old Luxor hospital. and God knows what contaminated material was in there, but after I made a complaint  it was covered over with more fill from the other buildings that have been taken down. 
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 some of the buried  toxic waste,,  that is what knauf plaster boards are made from  (power station waste)
plus material from heating ducts that contain asbestos a banned material in the EU. and has to be buried under health and safety official supervision,  not here ?   with its out of sight out of mind policy,
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. more on Nile pollution on my website   http://www.myegypt.co.uk/index.php?f=data_home&a=1